I Don't Know
by ThePhizz
Summary: Gourry finally asks Lina a question that's been bugging him for so long.


The sun shone down upon the two, turning Gourry's hair the color of gold and making Lina's amulets glitter. A few clouds overhead were the only thing that disrupted the perfect blue of the sky. The few trees that provided shade from the sun had been left behind nearly a mile back and both travelers were hot and sweaty.

Casually, Gourry wiped perspiration from his brow and turned to look at Lina. She was surprisingly cheerful considering they hadn't been able to find any bandit camps recently. Usually she became grumpy if she was denied her helping of bandit killing. After a few more minutes spent walking, the swordsman decided to find the answer to the question that had been bothering him for over a year now.

Gourry cheerfully turned to Lina, an inquisition expression clearly shown on his face.

He cleared his throat to gain the sorceress's attention. "So, when_ is_ the wedding?"

Lina turned slightly to look at her guardian. "What wedding?" she asked mystified.

The blond man laughed and smiled at her in a way that made Lina's stomach feel as though it were full of butterflies.

"Our wedding, silly!"

The expression on the Lina-Sorceress Extraordinaire-face was priceless. It would have beaten Gourry's clueless look hands down. Slowly, she managed to regain the ability to think, and then speak.

"...Our...wedding...?"

"Yeah, our wedding. I mean, it's been quite a while and we haven't set a due date or anything."

"...our wedding...due date?" Lina nearly swallowed her tongue and looked at the swordsman in bewilderment. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Alright, so we haven't exactly made it official," he confessed," But still, we should try to set some kind of due date." Gourry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we should get some rings and tell our friends."

Her mouth opened and closed in her best fish impression. Her mind was unable to form words. Everything was blank and she was knee-deep in shock and confusion. Drowning in it in fact, screaming for help while a tidal wave of confusion swept her sanity away. A buzzing fly meanwhile landed on her face before heading for her mouth. Lina chewed and swallowed it absently, mind still blown.

Somewhere in Saillune, Amelia shuddered.

The swordsman watching made a face and turned away. Fish guts were one thing, (and she rarely ate those) but bugs were another thing. He hoped she would eat better if she got pregnant.

After a few more minutes of blank stares, Gourry smiled at her pleasantly. Lina managed out a 'what?' before her mind went blank again. The swordsman laughed and put his arm around her shoulder gently. His smile became shy and almost nervous.

"We have a lot to do I guess. I think Amelia wouldn't mind helping us, and oh, Sylphiel could help too." The smile returned full strength. After a few more minutes of looking at his friend's expressionless face, Gourry began to lead her down the road again. If they hurried, they could get to the nearest town before dark.

Somewhere in the white, blank so blank space that was now her mind, shapes and words formed. Calmly, she began to speak. "Gourry, what the hell are you talking about?"

The swordsman looked at her surprised, and then slightly hurt. His smile diminished and he frowned.

"Lina, don't you remember? I said I'd protect you forever. I took a vow to be with you." He laughed and squeezed her shoulder playfully. "And you talk about _me_ being forgetful!"

"When did you-?"

"When we were in that weird desert, and I said I'd protect you for the rest of my life."

She, gently again, removed Gourry's arm from her shoulder and looked at him. "How do you consider that a proposal?!"

Gourry shrugged. "Where I come from, when you make a serious vow like that to woman (especially one you've know for a while) you usually get married sooner or later."

"Where do you come from?" She demanded. "'Cause that's not how things work where I come from."

The tall swordsman scratched his head in a way that made Lina want to hit him in exasperation.

"How do guys propose where you come from?"

"They, you know, get a ring and then get down on one knee and ask for the girl's hand in marriage."

Gourry dropped to one knee and looked at her pointedly. "What next?"

The young woman nearly fainted. She had dreamed of being proposed to by a rich, pretty boy prince in a romantic atmosphere and a carriage waiting nearby. Not like, well, _this_. Lina rubbed her temples and eyed him wearily.

"Look, right now isn't the time for any stupid games. We really have to get going if-"

Gourry arose and looked at his friend confused. "But, I'm trying to do what you said."

She tugged at her hair, then his. "This isn't what I-alright; I did say something...But, this isn't what I meant. For God's sake, I'm too young to get married!"

"You are?" Gourry scratched his cheek. "Lots of girls your age get married all the time?"

"Some do, but I'm not ready to settle down. Look, let's talk about this later."

"No Lina." He dropped to his knees and held her by her shoulders, like when they had first met. Gourry looked into her bright eyes, his face solemn, eyes a dark blue. He gazed at her long enough to unnerve her and wonder if the man before her was under some kind of possession spell.

Gradually, the blond man began to speak. "Lina, we've known each other for quite some time. I've vowed to protect you for the rest of my life. And," He took a deep breathe and slowly exhaled. "By you know, doing that, I was sort of proposing."

She looked at him blankly, blinking erratically. One of her pupils was bigger than the other.

"But, I want to do this right. So..."Gourry clasped her hands in his much larger ones. He awkwardly fumbled with her hand and looked down at his feet. "Can I have your hand?"

She looked at him wearily. "Gourry, you fail at life." The previous owner of the Sword of Light stared at her confused. He glanced at their joined hands, his bangs shadowing his face. Then his head popped up and he looked closely at her face. He smiled hopefully. "Soo..."

"Gourry..." She whispered softly.

"Yes, Lina?" Gourry leaned forward. So caught up with his emotion, the poor, poor man didn't see Lina's fist until it was too late. As he flew through the air, Gourry managed to yell out hopefully, "Is that a yes?"

Lina began tossing out spells left and right and cursing Gourry's parents for giving birth to him. Her face was red from embarrassment and exertion. After a few more minutes of her version of a tantrum, the young woman began to calm down. She took a deep breathe and counted down from ten, then one hundred.

Absently, Lina brushed her hair from her face and caught herself looking at her hand. Gourry had…proposed. She rubbed her temples again and tried to keep her brains in her head.

Everything had happened so quickly. One minute, friends just walking together. Now, they were apparently engaged--in Gourry's mind anyway. She rubbed her forehead tiredly. There was only one thing to do, and that was to deny and lie.

As though attuned to her mood, the wind began to pick up and a few stray clouds covered the sun. Though she was grateful for relief from the heat, the clouds made the whole scene moodier. Lina realized with dismay that she was turning into Zelgadiss.

Not to mention Gourry had disappeared. She was sure he was fine; it took more than that to properly hurt her friend. Still… Lina began to turn the problem over in her head like a Rubik cube.

No matter how long she held off his questions, Gourry would just ask about it later. Lina didn't normally think much about the future, but this was different. It was one of those things that might come back to bite her in the ass in a later date.

If she refused to answer him, he might take that for a no. Then he would leave. Lina's stomach lurched at the thought and she grimly continued to walk along the path. If she said yes…the sorceress's stomach gave another lurch. There were far too many possibilities with that choice. Although, if she did say yes….

Lina brushed her hair from her eyes and was grateful Gourry wasn't here. She sure didn't need his sunny smile to disrupt her thinking process.

If she said yes, things were escalade further. They would get married, have kids, and settle down. That was something she had never truly thought about. But, then again, getting married wouldn't change that much. Not as much as saying no might.

They would still be together. They could still travel around. The only change would be that they would wear rings, might have kids, and she would change her name to Inverse-Gabriev. Also, they would be intimate…

Lina flushed and whipped sweat from her forehead.

That certainly wouldn't be too bad.

Hastily, Lina change her mind to different gears. She wouldn't mind saying yes, but definitely not now. And how dare Gourry bring that up. They'd always had an unspoken agreement about expression feelings: Never in public and always after a near death experience.

Well, now Gourry was going to have a near death experience. Lina cracked her knuckles threateningly and looked for Gourry. He would catch up with her eventually, the moron jellyfish. He _was _a moron jellyfish, but…he was _h_er moron jellyfish.

Her kind, none-too-bright-but-sweet-as-candy (on cue, her stomach began to rumble) jellyfish. Life without him would be boring and let's face it folks, she really liked being near him. He was so easy going it was hard not to like him.

Gourry always did whatever she wanted, demanded little, and was one of the few people who seemed to like her company enough to travel with her. If they got married, nothing in that regard would change, Lina was sure. While sure he didn't want to settle down anymore than she did (he'd never said anything about stopping, and always loved the open road as much as she did), the blond man might want kids though.

Kids frightened her. Not in a Shabranigdo-Crazy Mazoku sense, but something that made her sweat and feel nervous and uncomfortable. Gourry had always seemed to understand this, and never brought up the topic of romance. That was Amelia's department really.

Lina suddenly wished Amelia was here right now. The princess was always better at dealing with emotions than any of Lina's other companions. It was too bad they were too far from Saillune to talk to Amelia.

Amused, she imagined Amelia's expression if she learned Gourry had proposed. She'd be very happy, and would probably ask them to get married in Saillune. Then Lina imagined Zel's expression. Shock, amusement would be clear on the chimera's face and then he might congratulate them with a small smirk.

Martina? She would give Lina an I-knew-it-smirk and probably say something akin to, 'About time.' And what would Sylphiel do? Lina winced at the thought. Probably smile and congratulate them, hiding behind that smile the whole time.

Sylphiel. Now there was something to distract her from her current dilemma. She hadn't really meant to take Gourry away from the priestess. Sylphiel had helped save her from Kopi Rezo and then Phibrizo. Lina truly owed Sylphiel her life.

And then Gourry had pretty much chosen her over the taller, older more feminine woman. She never did understand why, and Sylphiel probably didn't either. _Gourry _probably didn't know either. Either that or his answer would somehow be too simple for normal humans to understand.

Lina readjusted her bandana and thought of what would happen if she told him the truth. Of course, what was the truth? She wasn't ready to settle down and start a family, which was true. But, she didn't want Gourry to leave her. The sorceress nodded to herself and began to look for some shade.

Once she found a small clearing surrounded by trees, she flopped down under one. Ah, paradise. The grass was itchy, and full of bugs she bet, but it was so nice. The leafy branches provided the perfect cover from the sun. She rolled onto her back and watched the drifting clouds. If she had some ice cream, it would be paradise. Hell, Lina mused as she took off her cape and used it as a pillow, a whole picnic would be nice. Lemonade, sandwiches, potato salad, cake, pie, maybe some nice wine...and all for her, none for that some stupid jellyfish for brains.

Lina smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

After fighting a few trolls, a lesser demon, and his way through some wicked thorny bus, Gourry was completely and totally lost. The weather was so warm; he had removed his shirt and was still bathed in sweat (an image that would have given Lina a heart attack)

The swordsman was praying to find either Lina, or a convenient lake to take a dip in. At this point, either of the two would be great with him.

He wondered throughout the brown forest and prayed that Lina was ok. God, what had she been thinking? She should have known better than to get separated. If something had happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself. Lina was, in a way, his life. They had been through so much together; Gourry couldn't imagine a life without the spunky redhead.

Somehow along the way, he'd fallen in love with his friend. And while the swordsman didn't find anything wrong with this, Lina seemed to think differently. Gourry knew Lina was frightened by change and romance, so he always kept his space and never pushed the whole romance thing with her. But, after all these near death experiences as well as being separated from her when they were fighting that cloud thing, he was worried.

After wandering around for quite some time, his surrounding began to look familiar.

"Hey, there's the scorch mark from when Lina found that slug!"

"Oh, and that where Lina noticed me sleeping." Gourry winced and walked around the shallow puddle of blood.

"There's where Xellos popped up and tried to kiss Lina..." Again, the tall man walked around a shallow puddle of blood. This time however he didn't wince. Xellos certainly deserved having that sword shoved up his-

"Wow, my tooth!"

Pleased, Gourry continued pointing out things. He followed their tracks to the main road and a few straggly bushes along side of it. A deep hole where Lina had had her tantrum and the dead, burnt grass was near and Gourry hastened his pace. A low, hideous growl ensued from nearby. Closely, the tall man listened. After a moment, Gourry grinned triumphantly. He had finally found her.

The site that greeted him was enough to make Gourry forget his previous ire towards the sorceress. She laid spread eagle, drool positively everywhere, surrounded by bird droppings and ants crawling all over her nearly motionless form. Lina could have been dead if it wasn't for her constant buzz saw snoring and the constant twitching. Gourry couldn't resist 'aaaw-ing' as though his friend was an adorable puppy.

Lina twitched again, growling and pawing at a slipper.

Lightly, he brushed the hair away from her face. She squirmed, but didn't wake up. Gourry tugged at her hair, nothing. Then he grabbed her cape and pulled. Lina clung to her makeshift pillow and consequently Gourry ended up dragging her a few feet. Still, she didn't wake up.

He wrestled with her over the pillow and managed to get a hold of one of the corners. Briefly, Lina fought him over the corner. The fight was brief but brutal. It could have gone on for years until before Gourry managed to distract and tickle her.

The sleeping sorceress rolled away from the contact as soon as Gourry's fingers began to tickle her. As quick as lightening, the swordsman managed to get a hold of the cape and lay down next to her.

One of her fangs was sticking out of her mouth, drooling in a pool under her face, her eyes clenched, nose whistling. The swordsman sighed. What was that saying about not being able to beat someone…?

Gourry began to drift off, his snores blending with Lina to create a sound loud and obnoxious enough to scare away the local wildlife.

_He leaned forward, his long hair brushing against her cheeks. He bent further down, and whispered her name. His lips tickled her ear lope and Lina's face went red. Gourry's hand touched her shoulder and pulled her closer. Again, he whispered her name. _

"Lina." A warm, completely real hand flopped onto Lina's chest and for a second she was convinced this was part of the dream. Then the hand began rubbing her in a way she found pleasant, but…

A loud, horrified shriek echoed for miles. People in a nearby village thought a dragon or maybe a Mazoku was coming and quickly hid. A few brave men began gathering arms and set up a barricade. Just as soon as the first tree was cut and dragged to the outer edges of the small town, another horrified scream sounded. This one, full of pain and sorrow, was somehow worse than the other. The people living in the temple began praying for the poor lost soul.

As soon as Lina let go of his nipple and stopped kicking him, Gourry finished screaming.

Every inch of him seemed to be on fire except for where he'd gone numb from the waist down. He could taste blood and wasn't sure if his nipple was still attached. With a detached air, Gourry lightly touched his chest.

_Still there._ Painfully, he managed to sit upright. Gourry took a second to remember how to breathe and glanced down. He was just about to check if everything was alright down there when Lina punched his shoulder.

" Moron! Jellyfish! How dare you?!" with every syllable, Lina voice rose until it was a sanity-free scream. Gourry covered his ears, still not sure where he was or indeed _who_ he was.

"Who the hell told you it was okay to touch an innocent maiden?" Her eyes gleamed a ferocious and unearthly shade of red, copper colored hair spiked in every direction and fangs jutted from her mouth. Gourry breathed a sigh of relief. Despite appearances, he knew he had survived the red stage. Right now he was in orange area. The maiden thing was a sign that his best friend was pissed, but not murder pissed.

With a start, the blond man realized that if he wanted to have Lina marry him, he had to begin being even nicer. Lina wasn't one to be swayed by a mere word or gesture, and anyway Gourry couldn't exactly come up with a speech like Amelia might.

He remembered Lina wanting to marry a prince when they'd first been traveling, but she seemed to have forgotten about that. Gourry might have once been considered a noble or something akin to it, but after he'd run off with the Sword of Light, his inheritance and title were as gone as the sword. Still, Gourry was sure even if he had a huge amount of land and money, his friend wouldn't like him anymore than she did anyway.

She might act it sometime, but Lina wasn't truly that shallow.

But really, it wouldn't hurt to give Lina a ring and maybe compliment her sometime without pushing the topic of marriage. They were together and had time. His high strung friend just needed some time to sort things out. And her protector was nothing if not patient. Gourry smiled at the still-angry girl, watching her face go from unhealthily pale to unhealthily red.

Lina hadn't said no.

Forgetting about the pain it cause in his sore-from-screaming neck, the tall man lowered his head and tried to look as placating as possible. Lina crossed her arms and looked at him, cheeks still warm. Why did Gourry always have to make it so hard to be angry at him? She always tried her hardest to be mad at him for longer than a minute, but her 'guardian' was a hard person to hate.

After a second of inspecting him, Lina rolled her eyes.

"Come on Gourry, let's go." She flipped her hair away from her face. "We're going to miss dinner if you keep messing around."

The thought of food was enough to make Gourry spring to his feet. He grinned at her with all the innocence and enthusiasm of a puppy and Lina smiled back at him. Gourry hadn't mentioned anything about marriage and the sorceress was grateful. Lina began heading toward where the path was. The light was fading and she realized they must have been sleeping for a few hours. Casually, Gourry caught up with her, whistling. All the anxiety cause from the day began to drain from Lina and she began to relax.

Without warning and with a strangely graceful gesture, Gourry threw his arm around her shoulder. Lina tensed as he had expected, but didn't push him away. He smiled at her and touched the top of her head with his head. Gourry patted her lightly and grinned playfully when Lina shoved him. She was smiling he saw, and didn't really seem to mind the touching.

Deciding to have a little fun, Gourry pushed her back gently. Lina grinned devilishly and tried to trip him. He side-stepped her easily and tugged at her hair. Twirling around, Lina managed to kick one of the swordsman's shins and push him roughly to the side. Gourry laughed despite his obvious discomfort and began running.

"Hey, you can't turn your back on the enemy!"

Mock outraged, the red-haired girl shook her fist at Gourry's retreating back. The blond swordsman turned and stuck his tongue out at her.

Lina watched him, her mouth wide open and her eyes wide and staring. His long legs had taken him quite far away and if she waited much longer, she wouldn't be able to catch up to him without using magic. The petite sorceress smiled and began to chase after him, yelling his name followed by threats.

Gourry turned and began to laugh. He hurried his pace as Lina began to quicken as well. She laughed when Gourry nearly tripped and fell. Lina laughed as well and nearly fell over in an imitation of her jellyfish. He began running faster and waved to her.

The sun struck him at an angle and her guardian glowed in the light. Gourry looked like the purest thing she'd ever seen. His poised legs were lifted in a sprint and his hair, long and always something Lina had found beautiful, fluttered from his motions and the wind.

It only lasted a second and it was a sight she never forgot.

When she finally caught up to him and shoved him back with a yell of 'You're it!', she knew the answer to his question.


End file.
